I had been wanting to go to girls camp for quite some time. I had gone back in 1998, 99, 2000 and 2001. I love the beauty surrounding the camp, and the serenity. I also love being with the girls and watching them have fun and learn. I finally got to go this year, as the camp for our ward. I was in heaven. I needed a break from work, and from taking care of Scott.
It was hard work being the camp chef even though the girls helped. I was on my feet most of the day. It seemed as soon as we got a meal done and cleaned up we were getting another one ready. But I loved it.
What I didn't love was the cold! It was so bitter cold and rainy most of the time. There was snow still on the one mountain top near us. The girls still had fun through all the cold and rain, and we really didnt hear any complaints! I kept hot water going for them to make hot chocolate or hot apple cider to help warm them up on the inside.
Shelley had a lot of crafts and activities to keep the girls busy when it was raining hard and we weren't able to do things inside. And the girls liked being able to just hang out with their friends and talk or play games.
I have some herniated discs in my lower back so I usually take my big air mattress.... yeah I am a baby about sleeping on the floor..... I used to be okay but with the cold, my back, and not to forget my Fibromyalgia, I was hurting..... But I was envied by a lot of the girls... and leaders, ha ha.
Our color this year was yellow, and the Stake theme was "Bloom where you are planted." We chose the sunflower as our flower and the theme "Follow the Son".
Of course the Stake had activities for the girls to do as well. We usually have a humanitarian project we do that benefits someone, or a service project. As it has been almost a year since camp, I can't for the life of me remember what the project was! But I know they also made little bracelets for themselves.Maegan talking to Kelly Hill.
Kelsey, Alicia and Beckah around the camp fire. Kelsey and Alicia licking the chocolate off the cover of the Brownies, lol.
Our first night for dinner we had Sloppy Joes, delicious macaroni salad, (made by Judy Flack and sent up with us), Chips, cut veggies, and Brownies from the BYU bakery... oh yeah, the good ones... some with the mint frosting! YUMMMMMM..... In this picture is Shelley, (or the back of her, Rochelle Warner, Kensey Deadmond, and Katie Gubler.
The next day we went down by the lake for our activities. The first one we were at the pavillion and Bishop Warner and Bishop Anderson joined us. We played 2 Truths and a Lie. I thought I was going to stump the girls as many didnt know me well, but they guessed the lie.
Bishop Anderson videoing the activity. It was so good to see Bishop Anderson there and doing so well. In July of 2006 he had fallen off a roof while helping someone reshingle their home, and fell onto the cement. He ended up having to have quite a few surgeries to remove blood clots from his brain. At first for the first few days we didn't know if he would live, but he was strong... then against all odds, he pushed himself in physical therapy to get the strength back in his legs to walk again! He is amazing! He has some memory deficits, but has worked hard to be where he is now... With his hard work and his faith, the faith of his family and prayers of the ward members he is overcome a lot!
After this activity, we headed down to the lake for our canoeing activity. It still was pretty cold but we warmed up by rowing! It was still fun. 
Above: Kelsey Warner, Brookelyn Hill and Rochelle Warner. Left: Shaila Hill, Shirley Hayward and Alicia Kallunki.
Kristine Webb, Anaka, and Bishop Warner. Bishop got in trouble for splashing the girls with his oar... ha ha ha.
Erin Liljenquist and I. Yeah, I even got in and gave it a whirl... I do pretty good actually! But boy my arms hurt the next day!!
Sadly our time on the lake went by very quickly, and we headed back up into the wilderness area, leaving the lake to another group of girls to enjoy. I am always amazed at how quick time seems to fly at camp, whether it is the group of activities we participate in, or the fun in watching the girls find imaginitive things to do while there, or just the calming influence being surrounded by the beauty and God's creations, I can't put a finger on it yet, but hope to be able to go back often to experience it again and again! It may also be due to the company of the girls and the other leaders.... Just maybe a combination of all these things! I just wish it didnt go by so quickly as I am usually not ready to go when it is time to leave, but I know I must return to reality, and my family, home, work and all my responsibilities and let others have the experiences of being in this piece of heaven too!
After our dinner of Hawaiian Haystacks, tossed salad and s'mores, we all met together at the pavillion to do ward skits. Each ward put a few items, just random items into a bag, along with two random words, and the bags were passed out. a skit to present for skit night. 
Each ward was to come up with a skit to present for skit night. Our bag had a Witches hat, a pink boa and I can't remember the rest, but the girls did a fantastic job planning a skit. They used the theme of Harry Potter, using the witches hat as the sorting hat. It was a blast, and I think the best of the night!
Thursday we had the canoe races. We had a quick meeting with just all the leaders, and it was raining, or course, but Diane Avery and I had gone down to the little town to the store to grab a few things, and on our way back it was hailing pretty hard. It was headed our way up at camp. We informed the Stake leaders and they discussed it and decided to go ahead with the races. Brrrrr!
It started out okay with the weather, but it changed quickly and rained, then hailed, and we had thunder added on to that. We got the girls off the lake as quickly as possible. I think Kristine Webb (above) was either having too much fun, or they won the race, or she couldn't believe it had started to hail!
Kelsey and Beckah look mighty cold!
The wooded area behind our camp spot. Just a little after we got the girls back to our camp area, it stopped raining, and hailing, and started to get nice outside ! finally! The girls had fun being able to play their games in a large circle near our site. After dinner, we were able to get all the girls from our Stake together in the woods behind our camp area to do "Singing in the Trees." The songs were beautiful. It is hard to get all the girls to stand there quietly, and wait their turn to sing our ward song. But the feeling of reverence, and awe was so overpowering for me as I listened to each song, and then singing our song, I was overcome and in tears. After our song, our Bishop who had come up to bring his daughter back up from a previous commitment, came up and told me that Tiffany had to call an ambulance for Scott. When she had gone in to our room to wake him for dinner, he was unresponsive at first and then confused. He didn't know who she was. Apparently his sugar was down to about 45, so the paramedics had come and had given him sugar through an IV line, and then he was fine. That really made the tears come. I was torn, should I go home to check on Scott, or stay and finish my obligation. No one would fault me if I needed to leave early, but I decided since he seemed okay at the moment, and we had been through this with him before and he is okay for a while, that I would stay and leave after our Testimony meeting after dinner tomorrow night. I knew that he was in good hands, and Bishop Warner, or Bishop Avery would be watching out for him and would come get me if anything else occurred. We dont get phone reception up in the mountains, so it was hard to make that decision.
They made Shelley and I get up and do the chicken dance with Erin. We just followed what Erin was doing, we had no idea what we were doing, but it was funny.
They also redid the skit of Harry Potter. Shayla (sp?) ws Dumbledore... I loved how creative they were in pulling her long hair to the front to make the beard! The skit was pretty creative and funny.... even the second time without the original props!
The sorting of the First year girls into their perspective houses! lol 
A glorious game of Quidditch
"Watch out Harry Potter!"
Good triumps over evil... again!.... We started to pack the things together and clean and put stuff together that would need to be packed onto the trailer so we didn't have to try and do so much in the dark or early the next morning. We had an easy meal planned. We made Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler, and Dutch Oven Upside Down cake. The Bishopric brought up pizza for dinner and we had made a tossed salad. The girls liked having the pizza. The Cobbler and Upside Down cake were a hit, especially topped with the vanilla ice cream Bishop also brought up. 
